Leaking roof causes major water damage to flat

By Jacob Phillips, Local Democracy Reporter

A family were left with water pouring through their ceiling after their roof was not fixed for six months.

Nawal Judeh Musa, who lives with her two teenage daughters, was left trying to fill buckets with water after a leak took place at her home in Orient Street, near the Elephant and Castle on Wednesday.
The family’s roof was first damaged during Storm Eunice in February and Nawal asked her housing association Notting Hill Genesis to fix it – but since then she said all they have done is take pictures of the damage.

During half an hour of rainfall yesterday afternoon, water poured from the bannisters on the ceiling and the mum believes the damage could cost her up to £5,000 since the downpour ruined both her leather sofas and her carpet.
Nawal said: “I called [Notting Hill Genesis] to ask them to disconnect the electricity but they said they had too many emergency calls to take. It felt like nobody cared.

The mould in the house Picture: LDRS

“I was having to go from leak to leak. I was soaked. All the buckets were full. They had the chance to repair it when the weather was better. It was leaking before but it was only like a drop.”Since moving into the property 20 years ago, Nawal converted the garage in the house into a living room but now the room may need to be completely renovated again. A video taken by the mum shows water pouring all over the family’s furniture and her curtains are completely soaked.
Water is also seen dripping out of the fluorescent lights and pouring all over bookshelves.

Over the past few months, Nawal has also found damp spreading across her ceiling. She said: “I suffer from asthma. I try to keep the windows open.”
A Notting Hill Genesis spokesman said: “We apologise to the resident that this has happened to her home. We carried out a repair to the gutter this summer, but clearly this did not resolve the issue as we’d hoped.

“We have requested emergency repairs to fix any leaks in the home and carry out a mould wash in the bedrooms and living rooms, as well as arranging for contractors to take another look at the guttering and roof so we can best prevent further leaks from outside.”

Pictured top: Nawal Judeh Musa outside her home . Picture: LDRS